Scientology may believe that they can achieve control of time and space, but they are being denied control over Wikipedia entries. Wikipedia has blocked edits from Scientology computers due to a history of what it says are deceptive and abusive edits. They also banned individual Scientologists.
Continue reading “Wikipedia Blocks Edits by Church of Scientology”
The case of Lisa Strong is a tragedy at almost every level from her first encounter with the medical profession to her last encounter with the legal profession. Strong went to the emergency room with what she believed was kidney stones (she had a history of kidney stones). However, due to malpractice, she ultimately lost both legs and arms. Despite the admission of various mistakes by the medical staff, a jury ruled against her. In a rare move, Broward County Circuit Judge Charles M. Greene threw out the jury verdict and ordered a new trial.
Continue reading “Woman Goes to Hospital With Kidney Stones and Ultimately Loses Both Legs and Arms — and Lawsuit”
An Oklahoma jury will be asked to decided whether pharmacist Jerome Ersland, 57, is a hero or a murderer. A video camera captured Ersland pumping rounds into an unconscious and unarmed teenager who tried to rob his store on May 19th.
Continue reading “Oklahoma Pharmacist Charged With Murder for Coup de Grâce Killing of Robber”
As many on this site know, I am a bit of a history nut and I could not resist this story. There are many ancient accounts of the famed Damascus swords, particularly from Crusaders who described how the blades were so sharp that they could cut a failing piece of silk while strong enough to cut through rock. It now turns out the medieval Muslim sword-smiths learned how to create carbon nanotubes. The actual discovery was made a couple years ago, but I just came across some articles on the research in looking for some crusade background facts.
There is another controversy over police tasers leading to a death. Robert Mitchell, 16, died after being hit with a 50,000 volt taser shock after he ran from a traffic stop and allegedly resisted arrest. Mitchell had a learning disability and according to his family was merely scared.
Continue reading “Police Tase and Kill 16-Year-Old Boy After He Runs From Traffic Stop”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made a name for himself as a Holocaust-denying, gay-bashing, Israel-hating, religious nut. None of that appears to have made him particularly unpopular in Iran. However, he is now accused of buying votes with potatoes.
Continue reading “Potato Politics: Ahmadinejad Goes From Gross to Grocer”
A New York police officer has been tragically killed by a fellow officer late last night. New York Police Department Officer Omar Edwards, 25, was shot twice by another officer who was chasing a man that he believed was trying to break into his car. He mistook Edwards for the suspect and shot him.
Continue reading “New York Police Officer Killed By Fellow Officer Pursuing Suspected Car Thief”
Father Alberto Cutie, known as “Father Oprah,” has been much in the news after photos were published showing him hugging a woman at a bar and beach. Facing a resumption of celibacy, Father Cutie has discovered the Episcopal Church.
Continue reading “Faith With Fräuleins: Father Cutie Goes Episcopal”
Yonkers police officer Wayne Simoes, 39, has been acquitted by a jury, which reviewed this videotape of Simoes body slamming Irma Marquez, 44, face first into the floor — breaking her jaw and knocking her unconscious at a restaurant.
Continue reading “Yonkers Police Officer Acquitted in Body Slam Incident Caught on Video”
Another teacher has been fired for activities outside of school. Leonora Rustamova, 39, (known as Ms. Rusty) taught English at Calder High School in England and was a successful teacher until she wrote a book that the school found a bit too racy. “Stop! Don’t Read This” is a fictional story about students at the school but includes sex and drug references as well as the name of headmaster Stephen Ball.
Continue reading “Canning Ms. Rusty: English Teacher Fired For Writing Racy Fictional Novel”
The debate over Judge Sonia Sotomayor continues to rage this week. What is remarkable is how much is being said and how little substance can be found in the coverage. One would think that the law of averages alone would guarantee that some substantive points would be hit, if only by accident. It is becoming increasingly clear that, once again, we will not have a substantive and civil review of the qualifications of a Supreme Court nominee. Neither conservatives nor liberals seem to want (or are willing to tolerate) objective discussion of Sotomayor’s qualifications or opinions. For what it is worth, I would like to discard some of the most often heard arguments in the vain hope that we might still achieve some level of reasonable discourse in this debate.
Continue reading “Confirming Nonsense: Both Liberals and Conservatives Distort Debate Over Sotomayor”
Earlier, we discussed the story involving a Chinese man who was upset with a man holding up traffic by threatening to jump from a bridge. This video of the incident has been found.
Continue reading “Video: Chinese Motorist Tosses Man Threatening to Jump From Bridge”
Legislators in the Knesset gave initial approval to a law that would make it a crime to deny the right of Israel to exist — mandating a year in prison for such an exercise of free speech.
Continue reading “Israel Moves To Criminalize Statements Against Israel’s Right to Exist”
In torts, we have seen a steady line of cases related to the abuse or mishandling of corpses. However, this Indiana case is off the charts. Rev. Reginald Burrell and his parishioners from Northlake Church of Christ went to their newly purchased building only to find four bodies abandoned from 2006.
Continue reading “Funeral Home Operator Accused of Abandoning Four Bodies in Building Since 2006”
Theodore B. Olson, the U.S. solicitor general under Bush and his lawyer in Bush v. Gore, and David Boies, who represented former vice president Al Gore in that case, have joined forces to challenge Proposition 8 in federal court after this week’s loss in the California state court system.
Continue reading “Olson and Bois Team Up on Proposition 8 Challenge”